Students and firefighters recreate plane rescue in joint training exercise

16 May 2018

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​Firefighters and college students joined forces to run an aeroplane evacuation training exercise at a Kettering college.

Crews from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) teamed up with Tresham College, off Windmill Avenue on Tuesday, May 15 to create a rescue scenario involving the college’s aircraft fuselage, which is used for its tourism and public service courses.

A simulated fire using synthetic smoke was staged in the main passenger compartment, allowing 30 students to put their emergency procedure training into action and gain experience of working alongside emergency responders.

Valuable experience

The exercise also gave fire crews from Kettering, Rothwell and Desborough the opportunity to practise large aircraft procedures, including initial fire-fighting actions and using breathing apparatus to carry out search and rescue procedures in smoke and darkness.

Station Commander Jason Urbani, who helped coordinate the event, said: “The purpose of the exercise was to support the college’s tourism and public services students, giving them a practical opportunity to rehearse an emergency evacuation and to work with the emergency services.

“As a fire service, it also gave us a slightly different search and rescue location to train in, and allowed us to practise the skills required for dealing with incidents involving large aircraft.”

Putting training into action

Students from a range of courses at Tresham participated in the event, including those on travel and tourism, uniformed public services, media and media make-up courses.

Lucy Skipper, lecturer in travel and tourism at Tresham College, said: “The event went really well and was beneficial for all involved, as it gave the opportunity for collaboration across the college.

“Students benefitted by being able to witness first-hand what a real-life emergency looks like, and how the emergency services respond to such events. The media make-up students created realistic ‘injuries’ and media students were able to witness the event live and interview the emergency services afterwards.”

Cory McBride, 19, a travel and tourism student who wants to pursue a career as a cabin crew member, added: “I really enjoyed the event, it helped me feel more confident in front of audiences and will be beneficial in later my career. The experience has made me more determined to work within a cabin crew.”